1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to static gaskets of the type used to establish a gas-tight seal between two members to be clamped together, and more particularly to multi-layer gaskets such as cylinder head gaskets.
2. Related Art
In establishing a gas-tight seal between two members to be clamped together, such as a cylinder head and an engine block, it is common to use a static cylinder head gasket having multiple layers. Generally, at least one of the layers of the multi-layer gasket, sometimes referred to as a functional layer, has a compression bead to establish the fluid tight seal. Another of the layers, sometimes referred to as a distance layer, is configured to abut the functional layer in an effort to establish the gas-tight seal by compressing the compression bead of the functional layer. Unfortunately, while fastening the cylinder head to the engine block, the compression bead can be over-compressed and substantially flattened. If the compression bead is over-compressed, in addition to losing its ability to maintain a gas-tight seal, fatigue cracks can form in the area of the compression bead during the initial clamping or while in use. If formed, fatigue cracks ultimately reduce the ability of the static gasket to maintain a gas-tight seal, thereby diminishing the life and performance of the engine.
Some gasket manufacturers have begun producing multi-layer gaskets including compression limiters for preventing flattening of the compression bead when the gasket is compressed between the cylinder head and the engine block. These compression limiters are typically additional components and may either be costly to produce or may fully prevent flattening of the compression bead.